REDLANDS >> With a voter-approved commuter rail project that would take riders from San Bernardino to Redlands and back looming as early as 2018, local public transit critics are ringing bells over its funding.

In San Bernardino, voters dumped charter reform Measure Q. The measure would have removed wage-setting provisions from the city charter to collective bargaining. The city’s police and fire unions easily tubed the measure. The result is a blow to novice Mayor Carey Davis and backers, who put very little effort in support of the measure.

Who knew that the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians had significant interest in the quiet little town of Redlands? The tribe, which has a large casino on reservation land North of San Bernardino is taking great interest in the Redlands City Council election, and spending big money too.

Little ole Redlands, California is becoming the hot bed of local politics this cycle.

The simmering, by a handful, over Former San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor Neil Derry vying for one of three seats up for election on the Redlands City Council is taking the spotlight. One has to admit the contest is more interesting than the sleepy 31st Congresssional District race.

A Northern California political action committee (PAC) set to send out mailers attacking Former San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor Neil Derry may have assumed the name of a legitimate business.

Derry

By Ryan Hagen, The Sun Posted: 09/23/14, 8:18 PM PDT |

REDLANDS >> City Council candidate Neil Derry called Tuesday for the city to ban outdoor growing of medical marijuana after a high school student was killed apparently trying to cut marijuana from a man’s yard.

The City of Redlands will elect three council members on November 4th. Seven candidates have successfully filed for the race including two incumbents, a former county supervisor, a former public information officer, an insurance agent, a tattoo parlor owner, and a “domestic engineer.” Council member Bob Gardner decided not to seek reelection leaving an open seat.

Here’s some news flowing across the transom last week. In case you missed it!

Unemployment claims drop by 18,000

First-Time Jobless Claims dropped by 18,000 to 289,000, according to Thursday’s report by the Labor Department. The four-week moving average of 293,500 is the lowest since 2006. The claims estimate was for 305,000.

Step onto one of the three decks running across the back of this under-construction house and there lies much of the city of Redlands, the entire San Bernardino Valley and the San Bernardino mountain range from the San Gorgonio Pass to the Cajon Pass and beyond.

REDLANDS>> A City of Industry-based developer has broken ground on its second shopping center here, more than 10 years after its first center, Citrus Plaza, began to open — bringing resolution to years of legal battles and contention over the development.

REDLANDS>> The city is pursuing an agreement with a developer that could be beneficial for both parties.

Rancho Cucamonga-based Diversified Pacific Development Group has proposed dedicating 8.12 acres of its property at Judson Street and East Pioneer Avenue to the city in lieu of paying $363,042 in park and open space development impact fees.

A victim in Redlands school district Laura Whitehurst sex scandal filed a civil complaint against her and school district officials on Tuesday in Riverside Superior Court. The complaint claims the district failed to report the abuse to authorities.

REDLANDS >> A victim of Laura Whitehurst, a former Redlands Unified School District teacher convicted of having sex with underage students, has filed a civil complaint against Whitehurst, district officials and Citrus Valley High School for negligence and damages caused by a year-long sexual relationship that resulted in the birth of a child.

REDLANDS >> The City Council meets tonight for its first regular meeting of the new year to discuss, among other things, the city’s water conservation efforts in the wake of Gov. Jerry Brown’s recent declaration that California’s drought has put it in a state of emergency.

Megan Kelly, a former Redlands East Valley High School teacher, settled out of court in a civil suit where a former student alleges sexual abuse. The Redlands Unified School District is also named, and is included in the settlement.

Redlands Unified School District will pay a former student $505,000 to settle a sexual abuse lawsuit filed by a 2009 Redlands East Valley High School graduate against the district and teacher Megan Kelly.

REDLANDS >> City administrators signed a new contract last month. General employees are on the verge of finalizing theirs next month. And city officials are hosting an meeting to discuss the contracts with residents at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the City Council Chambers.

The Redlands City Council has approved contracts for managers and mid-management employees that end furloughs and provide a 3 percent base salary increase but should save the city money in the long run.

Redlands police are investigating whether Redlands school district officials broke the state’s mandated-reporter law when they did not tell law enforcement or child-protective authorities of an accusation they received in May that a teacher and student had a sexual relationship.

The six candidates for Redlands City Council discussed issues ranging from economic development to a proposed 38 percent trash collection rate hike to fix city streets during a two-hour forum on Thursday evening, Oct. 11.

Redlands had to loan more than $3 million from its general fund to its redevelopment successor agency on Thursday, July 26, to cover an unexpected demand for more money from the state.

The money to cover the $3.1 million loan came from the city’s water department and was transferred, with City Council approval, to Redlands’ former redevelopment agency, now referred to as the successor agency. The agency needed the money to cover a bond payment due this month.

A resolution that would encourage candidates for two Redlands City Council seats in November to adhere to voluntary fundraising or spending limits likely will be considered at the council’s first September meeting.

The council last week, over the objections of Councilman Jerry Bean, asked city officials to prepare the resolution. Council members didn’t decide whether the limits would be on spending, contributions or both, or precisely what those limits would be.

REDLANDS – Councilman Jerry Bean said Friday he will not run for re-election in November.

He has served one term. He won election to a four-year City Council term in 2007. His term was extended by one year when the council moved the November city elections from odd-numbered to even-numbered years.

The Redlands Tea Party Patriots moved quickly in opposing the state Legislature’s support of a bullet train in California.

Thursday afternoon, the Assembly approved S.B. 1029, authorizing the state to begin selling about $4.5billion in state bonds for the nation’s first high-speed rail system, taking an initial step toward the ambitious $68billion project that Gov. Jerry Brown hopes will be a part of his legacy.

REDLANDS — The nomination period for those wishing to throw their hats into this November’s city election is still a few weeks away. But buzz is generating around town on who is and who isn’t going to run.

Four positions are up for grabs, including the two council seats occupied by Mayor Pete Aguilar and Councilman Jerry Bean.

After restoring a few items to Redlands’ general fund for the next fiscal year — including money for fee waivers for groups holding events in town — the City Council approved the $53.7 million spending plan.

The council added about $226,000 to the budget presented to them by City Manager N. Enrique Martinez. Councilmen Jerry Bean and Bob Gardner, who made up the council’s budget committee, said they wanted to add $95,000 to complete a revision of the housing element of the city’s general plan.

Since December, members of Occupy Redlands have been appearing before the City Council, reading a resolution opposing corporate personhood and urging the council to vote on it.

They have appeared at almost every council meeting in the past four months, taking three-minute turns reading the resolution, and more recently, reciting a long list of U.S. cities and counties that have voted to support it.

He’ll be asking the labor unions to let employees pay more for health and retirement benefits

BY JAN SEARS jsears@pe.com

Published: 22 April 2012 06:19 PM

Redlands’ labor negotiator has begun meeting with representatives of employee groups to discuss salary and benefit issues that city officials say could help improve Redlands’ long-term financial health.

The City Council has directed its negotiator, Richard Kreisler, a partner in the Los Angeles law firm Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, to propose changes in employee retirement and lifetime health care benefits and overtime, city spokesman Carl Baker said in a news release.

REDLANDS – Historic preservationists cautiously celebrated after receiving word that cinema owner George Krikorian is in default of an agreement with the city that could lead to his purchase of a historic downtown packing house.

An artist’s rendering shows the Howard Industrial Partners project that features an 809,000 square foot warehouse and preserves the historic palm rows.

BY JAN SEARS STAFF WRITER jsears@pe.com

Published: 17 December 2011 08:04 PM

The developer of a proposed 809,000-square-foot distribution center in north Redlands pledged to bring the city an environmentally sound, solar-panel ready and attractively landscaped building — and to preserve the north Redlands palm rows that are iconic to the city.